USF: No need to return tickets to UCF

It's been a fun couple of hours here, with the end result being more than 1,000 tickets still available for Saturday's USF-UCF game, with the Bulls saying they do not need to return any tickets to UCF.

UCF's athletic department sent an e-mail out Tuesday afternoon stating that 1,661 tickets remained available for Saturday's USF-UCF game after USF officials indicated they would return 542 tickets "previously held for consignment sale."

USF executive associate athletic director Bill McGillis initially disputed the report, saying the Bulls had not returned any tickets, and has since clarified the confusion. Due to "poor communication within our own office," McGillis said USF indicated to UCF it would be returning tickets, but the Bulls have not and do not plan to do so.

"We have not returned any tickets to UCF. I fully expect us to sell our tickets," said McGillis, saying that USF sold out its initial allotment of 4,400, then requested more tickets from UCF 10 days ago. UCF granted 314 additional tickets for USF to sell, McGillis said.

USF intended to reserve 1,000 tickets for students for in-state road games and 500 for out-of-state games this season, but those figures could change based on student demand. Students had until Tuesday night to register for the tickets, and McGillis said USF will announce Wednesday if any tickets are available to the general public from USF, again based on student demand.

UCF initially had made single-game tickets for the USF game only available to season-ticket holders, but on Friday announced that limited tickets would be available to the public. McGillis said UCF's ticket office and administration have been "fantastic to deal with" throughout the ticketing process.

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